Schlagwort: Concrete Elite

It was that time of the year again: End of September, end of a lovely summer, and thus time again for mOi!n it’s Hamburg. A little gem in that little gem out in the danish part of Hamburg, two nights full of sing-a-long street punk and dance-a-long ska and reggae.

Day One had the tighter rooster and in hindsight that four band mix worked smarter than the full-on six band assault on Saturday (as Day Two lacked some of the relaxed Ska/Reggae sounds).

Kick-off was with Trench, a secret love of mine since their debut at the Monkeys earlier this year. We are still waiting for their debut EP (now slanted for December release) but in the meanwhile they continue to be a worthwhile enjoyment.

The studio outtakes for said EP should actually water yer mouth or make yer ears eager to hear more. I’d love to see them more often in Hamburg, let’s hope that the good people running that great little venture will book them more often for support.

With a swift changeover the style also changed – The Hacklers from sunny Ireland took the stage with everything to put a dance party on: 6 lads inclusive of keyboards and sax. And for sure that’ll be Ska and Reggae and it was provided in the best possible way.

Where Trench had some people dancing, The Hacklers now had everyone in front of the stage moving. That’s indeed the distinct advantage of that different cupboard: It lends itself so much easier to both the female and the male contingent enjoying body movements (and you can’t stop yer feet mate, you can’t stop ‚em).

„Out on the Streets“ – a real gem of a hit! If you need a bit of party sounds and keep the people dancing – go and score their debut LP, it’s a worthy catch!

Next on the Arch Rivals and they were greeted by the lot with loads of cheers – they had conquered the Monkeys before and they speeded up the the proceedings a wee bit: Their little cupboard is working class Oi! and they command the proceedings both with their sound and through Mike, who mans the ramp.

Full frontal from the start they scored goal after goal and won over the crowd (that actually did not want anything else than to be won over). And tongue in check they finally gave way to their own sing-a-long ode (to them fucking self).

I bet you i was not the only one who did continue the sing-a-long when strolling home in the we of the night with a bit of slippery feet (due to too much beer). Great, just perfect. All people ever need to get out of their mind!

On that high it was hard to keep the momentum but Berlin’s one and only Party Machine was the very right choice to finish up the already all sweaty party crowd. After some hickup with the keyboards (a broken cable finally was identified as the culprit and eliminated from the proceedings) there was no stopping to and endless hit party.

Bang! Boom! Done. All sweaty the crowd just gave in and danced the night away. It could have been endless but at the end everybody was done: On stage, off stage – just done.

Me myself and I where done too, to much of the black gold made it’s way into the pint and into me humble self. But that is the way it should be and that Friday mix of bands and style was just puuurfect.

Perfect Mix: Beer and live Punk fucking Rock!

Thus that picture had it all: Hamburg – Punk Rock City, with a beer and a stage and some choice live music. It can’t be better mate, it can’t be better.

With a neat hangover it joined the 2nd day, with 6 bands in front of me. Faces in the club slightly changed compared to Friday and some even did join the DJ Tour through the harbor. For me that would have been too much, i am to old for that shit and me body needs a good rest after a hangover.

Very early Ultra Razzia from Montreal had to take the stage, i think half of the club was still empty. As they – at least for me – turned out as a great surprise i was happy that i made it in time.

Wow – for me the biggest surprise on both days. Very much to my liking and very much in sync with some of my favorite stuff. Please check them out, they have a neat demo for free!

Whilst Ultra Razzia where a surprise the next cupboard to be opened was a surprise by the sheer label tucked upon it: To me plain hardcore! And it was Concrete Elite from Austin with some self proclaimed Brick Wall Music.

A wee bit left field for this event but as ever there is nothing bad in stretching mu-sick-al boundaries. One thing is for sure though – they will not be voted as crowd favorites, i guess they even where too offensive for some.

What was great though was to see and hear that lead guitar (back there in the white shirt): He did hide away and did little moves but i bet ya he writes all the songs and his great guitar play carries all the songs!

Luckily next on some more mellow sounds, Bromure from Paris with some known faces. Their sound was clearly and deeply rooted in 80s French Punk and the addition of the sax makes it indeed special.

They had more people in front of the stage and they had people dancing (no wonder vs. the break neck speed of Concrete Elite). I am not to sure with the sound though, to my ears that one did not sound as perfect and something felt lost in the mix (at least for my ears).

I dig them and i dig them specifically because they are different (and somehow are like having been fallen out of time). Class effort!

Where all the changeovers on stage earlier had been rather quick it took Menace a wee bit more time to be ready. That provided at least me and some around me with some frustration and that frustration did grow when they started.

From crowd reaction they seemed to have a top status, both the Oi! faction and the Blackpool Pilgrims had them down as great. I did see them a couple of times in the last 10 years and i have to admit i was never satisfied live.

This time round it was drawn into two directions: Once they where together on stage and sounded ok i realized that they have taken on power and speed and actually sounded very modern and up-to-date. On the other hand i did miss the bare Menace sound of all their early output and thus could not really enjoy the old favorites in the new sound.

But i was pretty much alone with that feel – around me a lot of happy people where singing and dancing and thus Menace did everything right (and i guess for once i was wrong). But that it how it is: For every band you have a sound in your brain and it is difficult to adjust your bearings.

Many people took it as the perfect set, i took it with some reservation though i guess the crowd can’t be wrong.

Next Bad Co. Project, forever with the burden of eg. „…from the ashes of Oxymoron„. Just like Menace it took them a wee bit to be ready but then they took the audience, with plenty of folks from Berlin, by storm.

It’s not that i don’t like them but it is just that their mu-sick just does not resonate with me. Nothing wrong with that, it resonated with many people in the crowd and as such they seemed to have delivered what the crowd waited for (and i think it was the first ever time they graced Hamburg, so the crowd did wait for some time). Bonus: Their bass player, centered on the stage, did seem to smile through all songs and choruses – so it looked like they had fun.

Finally and quite late Gimp Fist and thus the perfect encore for the two days event. Straight on Punk Rock with some scents of early Newtown Neurotics (at least for my ears) and an ever friendly (off and on stage) Jonny Robson.

They have nothing fancy and that makes them so special. They did not even need a long setup, a few twangs and a nodding „that’ll be alright„. Menace were the loud crowd favorites – Gimp Fist were the silent majority i guess. Yet again they bring it all together and match up many sides: Be it the Blackpool Pilgrim, be it the Cock Sparrer Maniac or be it the Football, Skinhead Punk’n’Roll Fan.

Perfect closure of the night i’d say. And a lot of happy faces in the audience (and one big fan almost in tears – you know who you are mate!).

Perfect two day, as said with the first day sporting a perfect setting and great variety and the 2nd day a wee bit too long (for me and me hangover). And on the next day i realized that my two days ticket had a magic number that was to help the magical FCSP through the local derby (which i skipped, for many reasons).

1(83)910 – a magic number for free!

Thanks to all bands and fans and deep thanks to the good folks at the Monkeys for making this happen and providing a shelter for this type of Music. Your endeavors are duly noted and at least i keep you in my morning prayers!